Percentages vs. Dollars—a Battle for Investors' Attention

Percentages Are Common but Don't Seem Like Real Money to Many People

Two familiar figures are duking it out in a battle for fund investors' attention and comprehension. On the one side: the percentage. On the other, the plain dollar amount.

Investment-related information is often given in percentage terms—both in documents and in conversations between financial planners and clients. A percentage makes returns comprehensible to investors at all levels—whether they have $5,000 or $500,000 at stake—and...